Cheers and jeers erupted in a Little Rock conference hall for each question U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. French Hill answered from constituents at a town hall Monday afternoon.
Cotton and Hall spoke on a range of topics — from taxes to affordable health care to internet privacy — for an hour-and-a-half at a conference room at the Little Rock Embassy Suites. People arrived early to fill about 700 seats and line the walls.
Attendees could submit slips of paper with their names, their hometowns and their questions to be selected in a blind draw for Cotton and Hill to answer.
The town hall kicked off with a question from a Sherwood resident, who asked if the two congressmen will continue to make health care a private sector issue. At the first mention of “repeal and replace,” a wave of boos rolled through the crowd, which was countered by applause.
Hill told the man that he agreed that health care needs more competition to bring down federal rates, prompting some in the crowd to wave around red pieces of paper to indicate their disapproval.
Another woman from Little Rock submitted a question about “World War Three.” She told the two congressmen she lost her high school boyfriend in Vietnam and wanted to know what Republicans will do to control “our crazy president” in power.
Cotton told the woman he was sorry about the loss the woman experienced. He spoke about his military background and said to avoid those losses, we have to “avoid having to fight those kind of wars in the first place.”
Cotton added that he thinks President Donald Trump made a good call in his choice to strike a Syrian airfield in response to President Bashar Assad's use of chemical weapons against his own people.
Hill agreed, saying, “We project peace through strength.”
As the town hall continued, both Cotton and Hill had to restart responses as shouting from the crowd became more frequent. They both responded to concerns over Trump's tax returns and the president's financial ties with foreign powers. Cotton told the crowd it “doesn't take a lot of effort” to find out where Trump does business because “he puts his names on his buildings.” Both he and Hill noted that Trump filled out a financial disclosure agreement with information on his business practices.
A Little Rock man asked the congressmen why they chose not to keep companies from selling users' private browsing histories. There's still time for the congressmen to turn around on that issue, he said.
“If you don't, I think it's time to repeal and replace you in 2020,” he said, prompting a loud cheer.
When asked about the pending executions of seven Arkansas inmates, Cotton said he absolutely supports the governor in his decision to go forward with the lethal injections. It's time to give families “peace of mind,” he said.
Hill told the audience some crimes are so “heinous” that judges and juries “need to have the ultimate penalty available to them.”
Several attendees thanked the politicians for showing up and fielding questions from such a politically diverse group of people. Throughout the event, members of the crowd held posters and green-and-red cards aloft to indicate their approval and disapproval of what Cotton and Hill were saying. At one point, the congressmen had to stop talking as groups in the crowd stood up and attempted to start competing chants.
Before the event began, Bob and Bonnie Emrick found seats in the front row about 15 feet away from the stage. The duo came to the town hall to ensure the “disruption” at Cotton's earlier town hall in Northwest Arkansas didn't happen here, Bob Emrick said.
“When you're screaming and yelling, you don't accomplish anything,” Bonnie Emrick said.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.